The Standards of the League

Whenever anyone asks me what is the difference between Chinese mahjongg or Asian mahjongg and the type of mahjongg that I play, my first response is usually "Well, we play with a card and the others don't," or "We use jokers."  But on reflection it occurs to me that the correct response is "We play by the standards of the National Mah Jongg League," and I learned just what this means when I attended the annual meeting on February 6, 2012.

The meeting itself was without fanfare; the reading of the minutes followed by the report of the president, Ruth Unger (above right).  The membership was represented by five players, including Jerry Goldman, pictured above, who has been playing for 62 years.  Board members Marilyn Starr, Adele Strano (above left and center) and Mrs. Unger's two adoring sons, David and Larry, were also present.


The word "standard" has many meanings.  It could mean usual or customary, such as the standard layout of a business letter.  It could mean morals or ethics, as in the standards set by a parent or teacher.  And it can mean recognized excellence, as in a standard for achievement.  In speaking with Mrs. Unger, I knew I was in the presence of a woman who set the highest standards not only for herself, but for the League and its 500,000 members. In many ways she could be compared to the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg in her leadership style.  Like these celebrated CEO's, Ruth Unger has narrowed her focus and devoted her life to the mission of the organization.  For the League that is two things:  The Card and Philanthropy.  Half the year is spent developing a card that will please the members - and I learned what a balancing act that is.  It must be easy enough for new players yet challenging enough for experienced players.  The other half of the year is spent distributing the proceeds to charitable organizations; $500,000 to St. Jude's Hospital as an example.

Some may rail at the traditionalism of the League.  "Why don't they open up more hands?"  "Why don't they have more of an online presence?"  "Why don't they market themselves more?"  In my opinion the reason is that Ruth Unger is a purist, in its most complimentary usage.  It is her effort that we see when we open the new card, and her love and devotion is evident by the extraordinary growth of the membership.  500,000!  How many lives were saved by each humble $8 card purchase?

Some readers may have gleaned from prior posts that I am a very strong proponent of corporate social responsibility.  The National Mah Jongg League, with Mrs. Unger's leadership, invented it - and we love them for it..

Year of the "Dragon"

There has been a lot of talk about soaps going around lately, but in honor of Chinese New Year I think it appropriate to bring out the story of How the Dragon Got Its Name.

We all know that mahj originated in China, and as such there are distinctive Chinese elements to the game.   But because the game has a long history and myriad variations, these elements have been adapted to suit the cultural preferences of the time and place.  So - what are dragons, really?  The information wasn't difficult to find, and the words that follow are not mine.  I found all this stuff on line and it's fascinating.

Chinese writing originated 1500-1000 BC and the earliest depictions of characters were known as Oracle Bones.  These were simplistic pictures found on turtle shells and animal bones.  According to Osamuko's mahjongg blog the Oracle Bone depictions of what we currently know as dragons were:

RED

White

The symbol that we now know as "red" is a flagpole inserted into a holder.  "White" is the meat of an acorn.  The oracle bone symbol for "green" is not known.

Later depictions of these symbols became more advanced.  The flagpole has evolved into the Chinese character for "middle way" or "center" and there will sometimes be a C on it.  The "white" tile is sometimes blank, but may have a P on it (Pa in Cantonese = white).  The green tile is a character which represents a sack of coins and stands for good fortune.  It may sometimes have an F on it (Fa in Mandarin = prosperity)

In mahjongg divinity the tiles are identified as White = heaven, Green = earth, Red = Man (in the middle between heaven and earth)

In addition, the three tiles stand for something more physical and that is archery.  The red symbol is a direct hit, the blank tile is a miss and the green symbol is that of the archer drawing his bow.

The symbols also correspond to Confucian virtues; red for benevolence, green for sincerity and white for purity, or freedom from corruption.  I would speculate that the use of the word "soap" for white dragon is adapted from the idea of purity or cleanliness, but that is just my humble opinion.  And because it is sometimes depicted as a blank tile and represents a miss in archery, it is a natural go-to tile for use as a null or zero when needed.

So how did these symbols become known as dragons?  I cannot say for sure.  It says on Wikipedia that it was introduced by Joseph Babcock when he first imported the game to the West in the 1920s.  Dr. Foster in his 1923 book Foster of Mah Jongg refers to the red, green and blank tiles as Dragons but says it is not necessary to refer to them as such; merely as red, white and green.  I am thinking that Babcock wanted to spice up the tile set and make it seem more exotic and what could be more "Oriental" than the all-powerful dragon?  I may be wrong, but hey, marketing is marketing.

So here's the the year of the dragon - may you draw your bow, hit the mark and stay free from corruption.